Kailey Donewald is the co-founder of Sacred Serve, a Chicago-based company innovating ice cream that is fully organic, raw vegan gelato made from whole coconuts. All flavors are dairy-free, vegan, and paleo and strictly free of gluten, dairy, corn, soy, GMOs, stabilizers, fillers and preservatives. They are challenging the conventional route of pint-sized packaging with their super unique looking 10oz containers. They have 40 locations across Chicago.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
- [1:15] Jeremy introduces his guest, Kailey Donewald.
- [2:30] What was the first iteration of Sacred Serve?
- [4:00] How Kailey ended up in Bali.
- [7:00] Lessons learned from working in an organics company.
- [9:45] Experimenting with different batches at home and perfecting the recipe.
- [18:00] Dealing with slow production and getting the product in retail stores.
- [21:50] Setting the right cost and figuring out the right packaging.
- [27:15] Playing to strengths and setting the right roles.
- [33:00] Different distribution options that Kailey and her team are exploring.
- [35:20] Tackling the challenge of logistics.
- [37:20] Finding new ways to market and engage with the right audience.
- [39:00] Good advice that Kailey has received.
- [42:00] The biggest mistake made so far.
- [43:15] Low point – financial restrictions.
- [44:20] Milestone – signing on with the first distributor and going to vegan events.
In this episode…
Let’s face it, we’ve been conditioned to think that if something tastes great then it’s usually not a healthy food option, right? From snack foods like chips to frozen treats like ice cream, if its an easy choice, it’s likely not a healthy choice. What if there was a way to turn that type of thinking around? On this episode of Inspired Insider, you’ll hear from innovator and entrepreneur, Kailey Donewald. In her conversation with Jeremy, Kailey opens up about her efforts to create great tasting vegan gelato, what she learned from the process, challenges she has faced along the way, why it’s important to put together the right team, and so much more! Don’t miss a minute of this engaging episode featuring Kailey’s story!
Do you ever find yourself reaching for that one dish of comfort food only to find that you kind of hate yourself for eating it after you’ve finished? It’s past time that we had more healthy food options on the marketplace so we can enjoy snack foods and dessert without the guilt! Creating healthy alternatives was a huge reason behind the work of Kailey Donewald and her team at Sacred Serve. They wanted people like you to find a product that is good for you on store shelves without feeling like they were doing something terrible to their body. From coconut meat to raw dark chocolate, the Sacred Serve team is committed to making their products using the very best ingredients, check them out!
One of the most common aspects of life as a startup entrepreneur is dealing with round upon round of experimentation. Often using friends and family as test subjects, the innovator can quickly find themselves testing the patience of those closest to them. That is of course unless your product is gelato. While the testing phase wasn’t without its challenges, Kailey and her team were finally able to hammer out a solid recipe for their vegan gelato. Soon, Kailey was able to enjoy the fruits of her labor seeing her natural and guilt-free product on the shelves of stores all over the Chicago area.
When you create a solid product from scratch as a small business, a huge hurdle that you often face is getting your product into the hands of the average consumer. What hope do you have to make it big if you can’t compete with the big box names? The truth is, it takes a determined leader who is convinced that their product is worth the struggle to get it across the finish line and in a position to compete. Luckily for Sacred Serve, they had the likes of Kailey Donewald leading the way and doing everything she could to give her fledgling product a shot, and it worked! What can you learn from Kailey’s story?
It has been said that a leader is only as good as the team they’ve built around them. Have you found that to be true in your business career? Do you work with a competent and innovative team? Kailey Donewald knew that if she wanted to scale Sacred Serve from a small and nimble organization into a rolling and productive business, she’d need a top-notch team around her. It’s imperative that a leader knows their limitations for a business to succeed. Kailey knew her limitations and hired a team to work with her that addressed her weaknesses and played to her strengths. Learn from Kailey’s story and make sure that your team is on the right track!
Resources Mentioned on this episode
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